Media Advisory: ReTree the District to welcome spring with 200 new trees in University District

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Hundreds of volunteers will return to Buffalo’s University District for the fourth round of ReTree the District.

Community members and University at Buffalo faculty, staff and students will work together to plant 200 trees and push forward the effort to restore Buffalo’s reputation as “The City of Trees.”

When: From 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 16.

Where: The streets to the south of Main Street; from Winspear Ave. to LaSalle Ave. Volunteers will meet on UB South Campus at 9 a.m.

Media are invited to attend. On-site contact is Darren Cotton, director of community development and planning at the University District Community Development Association, 716-857-0096.

Why: ReTree the District is a collaborative project of community partners working to plant 1,000 trees across the University District.

In less than two years, the project has planted 585 trees throughout the district, brought more than 1,000 volunteers to the community, and raised more than $20,000 to purchase trees and tools.

Among the several hundred volunteers participating in Saturday’s planting are UB students, faculty and staff from the UB Academies and Honors College, as well as participants of the university’s ‘Gettin’ Dirty’ neighborhood clean-up project.

As part of the initiative, a pilot tree stewardship program will offer free classes over the summer to students and community residents that teach the basics of tree care and maintenance.

For more information, visit www.ourheights.org/retree.